| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | December 2005 |
| Headquarters | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Key people | Donato A. Montanaro, Chairman & CEO Richard J. Hagen, Jr. President & COO Thomas A. Desmond, Chief Growth Officer |
| Products | stock brokerage |
| Website | www.tradeking.com |
TradeKing is a privately held discount brokerage firm with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and subsidiary offices in Charlotte, NC.
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Launched in December 2005, TradeKing offers online brokerage services for active stock and option traders. The firm was an early user of social networking for investors and traders, offering free blog support and other Web 2.0-based tools to registered members and accountholders since the firm’s inception.[1][2][3]
In March 2007, the firm opened a second office in Charlotte, North Carolina. In November 2010, the firm moved from Boca Raton, FL to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
In July 2007, TradeKing released the Options Playbook ,[4][5][6] a primer for options trading explaining common options trading strategies (or “plays”) in jargon-free terms. Investors can access a free online version of the book's full content at http://www.optionsplaybook.com.
TradeKing was ranked the #1 discount broker in 2006 and 2007[7] by SmartMoney, the Wall Street Journal’s business magazine.
In SmartMoney’s 2008[8], 2009[9] and 2011[10] surveys, TradeKing finished top-four overall. The firm earned the maximum five stars for customer service in 2008, 2010[11] and 2011.
SmartMoney’s 2011 broker survey compared a total of sixteen brokerages on their merits across six categories: commissions and fees, mutual funds & investment products, banking services, trading tools, research, and customer service.
TradeKing earned four stars in Barron's five-years running (2007[12], 2008[13] 2009[14], 2010[15] and 2011[16]) in Barron's Annual Survey of Best Browser-Based Online Brokers.
In its 2011 survey Barron’s recognized TradeKing as one of the best brokerages for options traders, long-term investing and #1 for site usability among brokerages reviewed. The Barron’s survey measures overall brokerage performance based on eight key aspects: trade experience, trading technology, usability, range of offerings, research amenities, portfolio analysis and reporting, customer service and access, and cost.
TradeKing earned four stars and finished fourth overall out of 23 brokers in the StockBrokers.com 2011 Online Broker Review [17]. The broker was also recognized as having the "Best Investor Community". StockBrokers.com's 2011 review provides in-depth analysis for seven categories: commissions and fees, ease-of-use, tools and research, customer service, offering of investments, education, and mobile trading.
Consumer Reports also ranked TradeKing third out of 19 brokerages reviewed in an independent survey conducted in May 2007.[18]
Independent product reviewers often rank TradeKing positively for its customer service, trading platform, low pricing, and active community [19][20][21][22][23]. Critics often cite high commissions for penny stock trades[24] and lack of “paper trading” platforms [25].
TradeKing charges an annual fee of $200 for simple LLC or corporate accounts. They also charge $50 for a simple 1099 for these accounts.